The Brain

Brain Rap

EEG electrodes on the brain that record brain waves Especially useful in sleep studies

CT Scan shows structure of the brain Especially useful in determining abnormalities such as tumors, decay, etc

PET Scan use dye to show brain activity Used most often in research and the study of cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson's, etc

MRI shows tissue responses to pulses of magnetic energy *used to diagnose abnormalities in brain tissue (tumors, decay, etc)

fMRI distinguishes activity levels of individual brain cells during various mental processes

The 3 Layers of the Brain Brain Stem Limbic System Cerebral Cortex

3 Layers of the Brain 1.Brain Stem (R-Complex) 2.Limbic System 3.Cerebral Cortex

Carl Sagan video

Major Parts of the Brain Stem Medulla- controls automatic functions Pons- regulates sleep and dreams Reticular Formation- core of BS; monitors incoming sensory info and attention and serves as Emergency Warning System Thalamus- receives info and prioritizes and distributes it accordingly Cerebellum- handles coordination and balance

Anatomy of the Brain Stem

Mike the Headless Chicken

Major Elements of the Limbic System Exists in all mammals- involved in memory, emotion and caring for young Hippocampus- establishes LTM Amygdala- controls emotion; holds emotionally charged LTM; center of fear and aggression (Waterboy got this wrong- don’t confuse with medulla!) Hypothalamus- body’s blood lab- monitors heart-rate, body temp, etc- important in _____ division of the PNS

Cerebral Cortex Primates ONLY: where all critical thought occurs

Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex 1.Frontal- movement, thinking 1.Motor cortex 2.Parietal- touch, spatial relationships 1.Somatosensory cortex 3.Occipital- vision 1.Visual cortex 4.Temporal- hearing, speech, some LTM 1.Auditory cortex

Phineas Gage

Motor and Somatosensory Cortex Homunculus: represents the amount of space on the M and S cortexes dedicated for each location on the body. –Which part of the human body has most representation on these cortexes? 2 nd most? Least?

Association Cortex Majority of cerebral cortex is used to associate information from all cortical regions. –It will combine information from all over the brain, interpret the sensations, plan, decide and prepare us to act.

21 Language Aphasia is an impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impaired speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impaired understanding).

Cerebral Dominance Tendency of each hemisphere to control certain functions

Left BrainRight Brain Regulates + emotion Speech muscles Movement sequence Spontaneous speaking/writing Word and # memory Understanding what you hear or read Regulates – emotion Response to simple command Shape and music memory Understanding spatial relationships and visual images Recognition of faces

Hemispherical Communication Corpus Callosum: bundle of nerve fibers that transfers information between the hemispheres of the brain